“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”–Heb.12:15.–Thus says God’s Word about the adverse results of bitterness, a very poisonous root that can defile your whole spirit, and seriously hurt and defile many others as well!

One reason that bitterness is so extremely dangerous is because it can take root and begin to grow and spread and spiritually contaminate and defile your heart and spirit before you even realise what’s wrong with you. Sinful human nature makes it very easy for us to rationalise and justify ourselves for harbouring hurt feelings or a grudge against others when we feel that they have wronged or mistreated us. In fact, we can even feel this way towards God!

Like the roots of most plants, little “roots” of resentment and bitterness usually lie below the surface where they remain unseen. But there they begin to spread and grow, going ever deeper and deeper. If allowed to continue, such roots of bitterness will eventually eat away at your very heart and spirit, until they will finally devour and destroy you spiritually!–Ultimately leaving you spiritually dead and virtually useless to the Lord!

Bitterness is very much like the South American vine known as the “matador.” Beginning at the foot of a tree, the matador vine slowly works its way to the top. But as it grows, it kills the tree, and when at last the top is reached, it sends forth a flower to crown itself. Matador literally means KILLER. Bitterness may appear harmless when it is small, but if it is allowed to grow, its tendrils of resentment, malice and hatred soon clasp themselves around the heart and eventually kill the soul.

This is why God’s Word exhorts us to “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”–Eph.4:31. And that’s what this lesson is all about: How to recognise, deal with and get rid of the deadly root known as bitterness, so that you may freely love and serve the Lord and others unhindered by this destructive device of the Devil!–That we may “lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us!”–Heb.12:1.

I. THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS!

A. It Will Hinder Your Relationship with the Lord and Your Service for Him!

When we’re attacking the Enemy and doing all we can to conquer new territory and win new souls for God’s Kingdom, the Devil, of course, is going to be quite busy trying to stop us!–And, thank God, he can’t stop us if we don’t let him. But if in some way you are harbouring his negative and destructive thoughts, listening to his debilitating doubts, or entertaining his faith-weakening fears, that is a partial surrender to the Enemy.–And any surrender to the Devil is always going to cause you trouble!

If you allow bitterness and resentment and a critical spirit to grow in your life, you will lose your anointing and your inspiration from the Lord. You can’t keep complaining about and resenting your lot in life, and criticising and murmuring about things that God or others have done to you, and keep God’s Holy Spirit on you at the same time. You just can’t do it. The Lord dwells in the praises of His people, and He draws near to us when we draw near to Him, “offering the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”–Psa.22:3; Jam.4:8; Heb.13:15.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him.”–Heb.11:6. If you don’t accept the things that the Lord sends into your life, if you not only doubt and wonder about His treatment and care of you, but actually murmur and resent and rebel against it, that’s certainly not faith, and surely displeases the Lord!

And if you allow that root of bitterness to take hold in your heart and life, it will cause you to fail both the Lord and yourself. Such a root can go a Hell of a long way, and can ultimately destroy you.–It can at least destroy your ministry, and your effectiveness for the Lord, and it can even harm the entire Work of God that you’re supposed to be helping.

The way that bitterness can hinder your ministry and effectiveness is illustrated in the following true story about the great artist and engineer, Leonardo da Vinci: Just before he commenced work on his famous painting of “The Last Supper” he had a violent quarrel with a fellow painter. He was so enraged and bitter that he decided to paint the face of his enemy, the other artist, into the face of Judas, and thus take his revenge by handing the man down in infamy and scorn to succeeding generations. The face of Judas was therefore one of the first that he finished, and everyone could easily recognise it as the face of the painter with whom da Vinci had quarreled.

But when he came to paint the face of Jesus, he could make no progress. Something seemed to be baffling him, holding him back, frustrating his best efforts. At length he came to the conclusion that the thing that was checking and frustrating him was the fact that he had painted his enemy into the face of Judas. He therefore painted out the face of Judas and commenced anew on the face of Jesus, and this time with the success which the ages have acclaimed.

How clearly this incident shows us that we cannot at one and the same time be painting the features of Christ into our own life, and be painting another face with the colours of enmity and hatred. To become more Christ-like, and to accomplish what the Lord wants you to do, surely all bitterness and hatred must be “put away” and “laid aside.”

B. Bitterness Opens the Door to the Enemy!

To wilfully allow little roots of bitterness to grow in your life is like knowingly letting the Devil in! Such discontentment and resentment and murmuring in your heart will just grow and grow and begin to cover and affect everything around you. That’s what bitterness does.–Which is why you’ve got to try to catch it at the very beginning before it takes root too deeply, and root it out!

This is why the Lord tells us, “Neither give place to the Devil!”–Eph.4:27. This verse shows that you can sometimes give the Devil place and room to operate and get in without necessarily being completely taken over or possessed by him. But let me warn you, he’ll use whatever you let him get ahold of, so you’d better resist and give him no place!–So beware of letting the Enemy in through the little seeds and tiny roots of jealousy, murmuring or bitterness that he may try to sow in your heart!

C. Bitterness Will Even Affect You Physically!

The affairs of the heart and affairs of the spirit can affect you physically! In medical science they call such afflictions “psychosomatic” illnesses, which means they are caused by your mind. But we’d say they’re caused by your spirit, by an improper attitude of heart, primarily a lack of love for the Lord and others.

There are all kinds of little roots, little roots of bitterness, little roots of jealousy, little roots of resentment, little roots of hurt feelings, and they can all get pretty bitter and they can all grow and they will all begin to eat on you from within, if you let them.–Until pretty soon they will crop out in very obvious or even physical manifestations.

Doctors have found that people who are bitter and have a lot of hatred in their hearts, have much more arthritis than those who are at peace. Similarly, they’ve discovered that those who have a lot of fear in their minds–worries, tension, phobias, etc.–have a lot more mental trouble and more stomach trouble, as well as more heart trouble.

Thank God that the elimination of fear by faith gives peace of mind and rest to your stomach and to your heart, and actually eliminates various poisons from the blood which cause illness. In other words, your state of mind and heart can actually poison your body. Science knows this and has proven it true.

Chapter 6
Temptation and Victory

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

After my conversion to Christ, the first thing that happened was all the gifts from the sea, the telescope, the T.V., shirts, photographs I snapped inside the sea laboratories and the photograph of the Queen of the Coast which were displayed in my flat, vanished.
On returning to Port Harcourt, I had the urge to testify what the Lord had done for me but was not allowed in the church. My late uncle’s wife who is also a Christian, took me to one of the pastors, but the question he asked was: “Did he bring the paper?” It was later that I understood that the paper he meant was a ‘membership letter.’ What has membership letter to do with my testifying the power of Christ and what He has done for me God, translating me from the power of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom I have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of my sins? I was sad, having known that Satan does not allow young converts to go about testifying, especially those who previously were deeply involved in his activities, and would do everything to stop such testimonies. Again I remembered, the Lord clearly instructed me to “go and testify what I have done for you” and here I was faced with rejection. Perhaps it was not yet time. So I decided to shelve giving my testimony to anyone.
I travelled with three traders from Aba to Togo for a business trip. There I bought goods worth N160,000 (One Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naïra). Out of this amount my personal money was N70,000 while the remaining N90,000 was borrowed from traders in Aba. Amongst the things I bought were bundles of laces, assorted drugs (especially antibiotics), injections, thermometers, etc. At the Nigerian border, we were held by the Customs and later were asked to pay some bribe. We refused and the goods were seized including those belonging to my three colleagues. A few months later, those belonging to my colleagues were released except mine. I went back later and was asked to pay N40,000, but on checking the goods I discovered that all the valuable goods, bundles of laces, injections, drugs, etc., were already stolen. I assessed the remaining goods and knew that paying N40,000 to the Customs would only increase the loss, so I decided to forego the remaining goods.
The traders whose money I borrowed started chasing me. Some called the Police, others took the laws into their hands and planned to do away with my life. The only solution was to close my Bank accounts and use all the money I had to settle all the debts. By God’s grace, I paid all except N1,000 meant for my landlord in Lagos. I went completely bankrupt and would borrow even 20k for taxi fare.
I went to a few business Christians I knew then, to seek for help to enable me start afresh. None said yes or no, rather I would be asked to come the following day repeatedly until I would be tired going. I became very frustrated and did not know where to turn to for counselling or find help. I did not know the Word of God and with all the confusion in my heart, I would read the Bible and would not understand.
Still contemplating on what to do, I received an urgent call from my village. I rushed home and found that the little building I was setting up had been pulled down by my uncle who was also present and threatened to kill me. The old nature in me was challenged. I remembered when I was with the secret society, how he dreaded me and would go on his knees before me. But now he knew I was a changed man (how he knew I did not know as I had not travelled home since my conversion) and he now threatened me. I called on the Lord and said: “So you saved me to leave me frustrated and to allow my enemies to rejoice over me!” I wept and decided to go back to the society. At least I would be saved from all the confusion and would also teach my uncle a lesson he would never forget all his life. Although I took this decision, I had two prominent fears within me:
1. During my conversion, the Lord clearly told me: “THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE.” My going back to the society might mean death, not only physical but also spiritual death.
2. If I remained in the Lord, my uncle was breathing threats to kill me.
I was so confused and I needed help. I was ignorant of the Word of God and never knew what the Word says in respect of the above. Dear reader, you will realise here that I had all these confusions because of lack of follow-up as a young convert. Follow-up for young converts is very important and Christians should take this seriously. If you know you cannot follow-up your converts, please do not go out for witnessing. Jesus Christ emphasized this three times when he asked Peter: “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? … FEED MY LAMBS.” Many converts backslide because of lack of proper follow-up. If you love Jesus, take care of His lambs!

The Battle with Satan’s Agents

During this period the Queen of the Coast’s agents started pursuing me. I suffered greatly in their hands. I had nightmares. On the 1st of May 1985, a month after my conversion, at about 2.00 a.m., others in the house were asleep. I was awakened by these agents. They commanded me to walk out of the house. I obeyed, walked out and they followed behind. It was all happening like a dream but this was in reality. We moved on to the burial ground by St. Paul’s Anglican church, off Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
On reaching there they said: “You must come back. If you refuse we will kill you or make you a destitute.” After this instruction they left. I regained my senses and wondered how I came into the burial ground at that time of the night. I walked back home, my late uncle’s wife asked me where I went. I never answered her, rather I went back to bed and slept. They decided attacking me in the afternoons. At times, while walking along the road they would fight me. Others around would see me fighting with the air or see me running as if being pursued. I alone would be seeing them. This they did for four times and stopped. Then their leader, the Queen of the Coast, took over.
The first day she came in a car and parked beside our house. She was well dressed and as usual very beautiful. People around took her to be my girlfriend. Immediately she came in I knew who she was. She came at about 12.00 noon when the whole area was less busy. She sat down and among other things said: “You can go to your church, believe whatever you want to believe, but if only YOU WILL NOT REVEAL ME, I will give you anything you need in this life.” I had not known the Scriptures so I only listened and watched her talk. She pleaded and tried to persuade me to come back to her. I never said yes or no to her. She stood up, walked into her car and drove off.
About two times my uncle’s wife entertained her without knowing who she was and I never told my uncle’s wife who the lady was. During her last visit she changed her approach. This time she gave me a stern warning saying that she had tried during these visits to persuade me to come back to her and that I had been very stubborn, and that this was her last visit. If I still refused to come back, she would come to me in August and would either kill me, or disfigure me or make me destitute. With this she left.
I was afraid, so one day I went to the church and called out a brother. I told him my problems and my observations on some members of the church, etc. This brother gave me the SCRIPTURE UNION’S (S.U.) office address and told me: “THERE YOU WILL FIND HELP.” Incidentally that was the last day I saw this “brother.” I have never seen him anywhere in Port Harcourt up till date. I took the address and the following day, took a taxi to No. 108 Bonny Street, where the office is and met the typist who gave me the quarterly programme of activities of the S.U. Rumuomasi Pilgrims Group, being the one nearest to me. She said: “Come on Sunday!” I was there at the Fellowship Centre – St. Michael’s State School, Rumuomasi – at 2.00 p.m., not knowing that the fellowship starts at 3.00 p.m., but I met the prayer band, so I joined them.
After the fellowship that day I knew this was the right place for me. God provided me with a Christian lady, whom I took as a mother, who took interest in explaining the Word of God to me and counselled me as well. The brethren became very interested in me and cared. I saw real love. The Holy Spirit began giving me understanding of the Word and my faith grew. I started enjoying my Christian life. August came and went but the Queen of the Coast did not show up as she threatened. Psalm 91, God’s protection, was fulfilled in my life. Isa. 57:17: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, said the Lord.” This also was fulfilled.
September 1985, I received a message that my name appeared as a distributor with the Silver Brand Cement, Lagos and that I was expected to report at the office on 27/9/85. I left Port Harcourt on 26/9/85 and arrived in Lagos in the night. The following morning 27/9/85, I went into the office only to be told by the Personnel Manager that my allocation had been assigned to someone else. He asked me to repeat the following day 28/9/85 to see the Managing Director. On my way back to my flat, passing through a path, someone came from behind and gripped me and tried to suffocate me i.e. held my nose and mouth together. I struggled for life and while people passed by, none came to my rescue, but the Lord intervened. While I still struggled with the hands I heard her shout and pushed me away saying: “Who is that person behind you?” She repeated a second time and disappeared. From the voice I knew it was a woman but never saw who she was. I was dazed and staggered to my flat. Here again my landlord was very furious and said: “Why did you run away with my money and my rent?” I pleaded with him and tried to explain that presently I was not working and would pay all his money as soon as I had money. With the way he consented I thought this matter was settled.
The following day 28/9/85, I went back to the office and met the Managing Director who apologized for having given my allocation to another. While he was still talking, a young man walked in and asked me: “Are you not Emmanuel?” I said: “Yes, I am.” He said: “Yes, we have got you at last! Have you finished running? We have visited Port Harcourt several times and found that you were always with your spiritual mother. She had been a stumbling block to us and now that you have come to Lagos we have caught you! You can never go back to Port Harcourt. I am the one that took your allocation.” I challenged him and told him: “You can’t do anything!” The Managing Director was surprised at what was happening in his office. I excused myself and left for my flat.
Few minutes later I heard a knock on my door and Ninna entered. She asked me if I was going back to Port Harcourt. I answered yes. She pleaded with me to come back to them and that the jobs I was particularly trained for were still lying unaccomplished: KOTIPARI (in the Yoruba language). I had been trained:
– to be in charge of the agents of the demonic powers.
– to be in charge of the “sea control room,” to monitor the happenings in the world, to send and receive signals, and to mobilize forces, etc.
– to be next to the Queen of the Coast. This involved not only ceremonies, sacrifices, execution of special assignments by her, but also other things difficult to explain.
– with the assistance of the powers of darkness, to establish new secret societies that would appear harmless so to attract young people and more church goers.
She said, if I accompanied her, what awaited me was double promotion and many blessings. She confessed they were responsible for my goods being seized and stolen, also that they instigated my uncle to destroy my building and to threaten my life. That if I refused following her, they would do more and make sure that I did not prosper. That they had decided to fight my spiritual mother: “If we get her, we’ve got you” she said. At that, I started preaching to her. She stood up and said: “They are deceiving you,” and left. This took place in the evening of 28/9/85.
Not quite fifteen minutes she left I heard another knock. This time they were four men. They beckoned on me so I came out and I saw myself going along with them. We walked up to about 2 poles and one of them asked me: “Do you know us?” I said no. He continued: “We have been hired by your landlord to kill you.” While he was still speaking one among them brought out a gun and another brought out a dagger. I was defenceless and knew that they would kill me, but God in His supernatural manner performed a miracle that surprised both myself and themselves. The man with the gun fired at me but there was no sound. The man with the dagger used it on my back but it never penetrated rather it sounded like using a rod on someone. They were as frightened as myself. The Spirit of God came on me and I started preaching. Three of them ran away, but the fourth man broke down and started weeping and pleaded that I should pray for him. I did not even know what to pray at that time but only said: “Lord, please forgive, forget and pardon him. Amen!” He gave his life to Christ so I took him to a Pentecostal church and explained what happened to the Pastor. I handed him over to the Pastor and left. As I walked into the house the landlord ran out and on his knees started pleading and said: “Please forgive me. I thought you decided to run away to Port Harcourt because of my money (N1,000).” I forgave him and we finally agreed that the money be paid by instalments.
That same night, at about 2;00 a.m. the Lord woke me up. I did not know why I woke up so I walked to the living room and what I saw was a large tortoise facing me. Immediately I remembered the Bible study we had in Port Harcourt, about the power in the word. I then spoke these words: “Tortoise, since I was born, the home of the tortoise is either the bush or the sea, but for coming into my house while windows and doors are locked you have sinned, and for this you must die.” As soon as I said this, it vanished. I went back to the room and slept. A second time again, I woke up and heard some noise in the living room. I went and there standing before me was a horrible looking vulture. I repeated the same words and as soon as I said: “For committing this sin you must die,” it vanished also. During this Lagos trip I SAW GOD’S GOODNESS, GREATNESS AND FAITHFULNESS.
The following morning 29/9/85, I took a luxurious bus to Port Harcourt. Reaching Ore, the bus ran onto a tree. It got damaged but no one was hurt. The driver pulled it out back to the road and as he drove along, the bus started swerving from one side of the road to the other. I remembered Ninna’s threats, so I stood up in the bus, preached to the passengers and concluded by saying: “It is because of me that these accidents are happening. But from now on, there shall be no more accidents until we get to Port Harcourt, in Jesus’ name!” And I sat down. In fact, when I sat down, I wondered at what I had said. And so it was. The vehicle moved smoothly to Port Harcourt. No more accidents or breakdowns.
The Scripture rightly says: “Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake” (Isa. 54:15). They (the Queen of the Coast and her agents) tried, but because their gathering was not unto the Lord but against His child, they all stumbled and fell. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of God shall lift up a standard against him” (Isa. 59:19).
I give God all the glory for showing Himself strong on my behalf.

Chapter 7
Activities of Satan’s Agents

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:11-12).

This book would not be complete if the different methods of operation of these powers are not exposed. Also it is important that the different forms in which they manifest themselves be exposed.
One thing is clear and that is, THE DEVIL WOULD EITHER ENCOURAGE YOU TO BELIEVE THAT HE IS A MYTH OR SIMPLE EVIL THOUGHTS, OR WOULD MAKE YOU SEE MORE OF HIS POWERS AND LESS OF THE POWER OF GOD. While the Bible says: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” the Bible also says that the weapons of the Christians against the devil and his agents “are not carnal but MIGHTY THROUGH GOD to the PULLING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS AND EVERY HIGH THING that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST” (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Again the Scriptures clearly declare: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). And Jesus having spoilt principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, TRIUMPHING OVER THEM.
“Thou art SNARED with the words of thy mouth, thou art TAKEN with the words of thy mouth” (Prov. 6:2) say the Scriptures. Therefore the child of God must be careful to confess the Word of God, which God has promised He will hasten to perform. There are three confessions stated in the Word of God:
1. Confession of the Lordship of Christ.
2. Confession of faith in the Word, in Christ and in God the Father.
3. Confession of sin.
When we hear the word “confession,” we easily think of sin. The dictionary definition of confession is:
1. Affirming something we believe.
2. Testifying to something that we know.
3. Witnessing of a truth that we have embraced.
It is therefore to be regretted that whenever we use the word confession some minds run to sin. The author is here encouraging the child of God to start today to confess what God has said.
You who were dead in trespasses had God quickened together with Christ and He has raised you up together and made you sit in heavenly places (far above all principalities and powers) in Christ Jesus. Christians should therefore realize where they are seated. They should know that they are operating from that height, above Satan and all his agents. The Lord Jesus Christ has given you ALL POWERS and AUTHORITY just as He has given you ALL THAT PERTAINETH TO LIFE AND GODLINESS (2 Peter 1:3). God never intended that circumstances should control His children, rather that the Word of God in the mouth of the Christian should control his circumstances. God spoke in Jer. 23:29 saying: “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Christians, I mean born again Christians, should realize that when the name of Jesus is pronounced, what comes out of their mouth is fire. When a Christian stands on the authority given him by Christ and gives a command in Jesus name, fire pours out of his mouth and any demon controlling the circumstances must obey. Jesus is alive today to see to it that every word of His comes to pass.
Again, I want to highlight an important fact many Christians overlook, and which Satan is using. Jesus, after Peter pointed out to Him the dried fig tree cursed by the Lord, said:
(Matthew’s account) “Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, BE THOU REMOVED AND BE THOU CAST INTO THE SEA, it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, YE SHALL RECEIVE (Matt. 21:21-22).
(Mark’s account) “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, BE THOU REMOVED AND BE THOU CAST INTO THE SEA, and shall NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART, but shall believe that THOSE THINGS WHICH HE SAID shall come to pass, HE SHALL HAVE WHATSOEVER HE SAITH” (Mark 11: 22-23).
Here the Lord points out to us the power of the spoken word and also encourages the Christian to be specific in his prayers and in exercising his authority. Some Christians ask the mountain to move but do not tell the mountain WHERE to go. Jesus said if you shall say to the mountain: “Be thou removed and BE THOU CAST INTO THE SEA…” Let us take the case of casting out demons for instance. Some Christians bind and cast out demons without sending them to specific destinations. This is dangerous. When you bind a demon IT IS BOUND. If you cast it out without sending it to a specific destination, it remains within the vicinity. If the demon is only rebuked out of a man, it will hang around and it may later come back or enter into anyone around who is not a Christian. Therefore Christians should be careful when dealing with demons. Make sure the demon is BOUND, CAST OUT and SENT to a specific destination.
Some Christians while praying would say: “I arrest you demons in Jesus name.” In the spirit world you really see the demons standing erect waiting for the next command. But if the Christian stops at that point, he has not helped the victim. Do not play around with the devil. You don’t play around with your ENEMY. God has sent you out on a ministry of deliverance and reconciliation (reconciling men to God). Therefore you must be careful to do a thorough work. I repeat, when you bind a demon, it is bound. When you cast it out to any destination it is so. As long as you do not meddle with sin but live in the will of God, whatever command you give the devil or his agents in the name of Jesus Christ MUST be obeyed. God has promised to back every word of His.
As we go on to the next phase, manifestation of Satan and his agents, I want you to have the following passages on your mind:
1. “Ye are complete in Him which is the HEAD of ALL principalities and power” (Col. 2: 10).
2. “Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to TREAD upon serpents and scorpions, and over ALL THE power of the enemy, and NOTHING shall by ANY MEANS hurt you.” Luke 10:19
3. “Behold, they shall surely gather together but not by me. Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper: and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment THOU SHALT CONDEMN. This is the HERITAGE of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me.” Isaiah 54:15,17.
I had mentioned earlier in this book that these evil forces operate mainly in churches, market places, graveyards, jungles, hotels, sea and air.

In the Churches

We are witnesses today that there are many possessed persons in the churches. Some speak in tongues and even prophesy. Only those with the Spirit of God can discern these fellows. But we are here discussing the agents of Satan in the churches. Again, we are not discussing the secret cult members who are in the churches (some are even leaders), we know they are there. WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IS THOSE WHO COME IN AS AGENTS OF SATAN:
1. To cause quarrels and confusion in the churches.
2. To scatter the churches.
3. To make men and women sleep while the sermon is on.
4. To cause distractions of various sorts when the service is on.
5. To win souls for Satan.
Since I had already said a few things on the above in chapter three, I will only give you a testimony of what happened in the recent past. Christians should abide by every Word of the Lord Jesus Christ, because when they disobey or compromise they are prone to fall at the slightest attempt of Satan or his agents.
Christians have been called OUT from darkness into God’s own marvellous LIGHT. Christians have been called to TOTAL SEPARATION from the world and what it offers. “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE YE SEPARATE,” says the Scripture.
There was this sister, sister J (name withheld). She was born again and was a full member of one of the ‘living’ churches. She later transferred her membership to my own denomination. She partook in all the activities in the church and was very active in them. But her character at a point became suspicious. So a few of us decided to visit her at her house and to find out what was really wrong with her. While interviewing her, the spirits in her were provoked and began manifesting, and then told us she was their agent in the church. These demons were cast out of her and deliverance was ministered to her. “Sister, how come you are an agent of Satan, yet a full member of the church?” we asked. What she told us was the following: It all started one day, after a Sunday service, a ‘sister’ (female believer in Christ, so she thought) came to her and expressed her desire to be close to her because, according to this ‘sister,’ she admires sister J’s Christian life. She accepted her friendship without reservations. The two went to sister J’s house and the so-called ‘sister’ brought out bananas and groundnuts, which they both ate. She stayed with Sister J for a while and later left. Her visits became regular, and on each visit she brought gifts to sister J. The gifts ranged from dresses, shoes, money, etc. On some occasions sister J’s friend would come with many other girls. This continued for a period and when the ‘sister’ saw that she had succeeded in putting out the light of Christ in Sister J, she changed and started visiting Sister J in the spirit. Sister J was then given a red cloth, a water stone, a ring for her right toe, and a chain for her ankle and because she had eaten so much with them and had taken so much from them, there was no chance of turning back. She entered into covenant with them and started attending their meetings. She could change into snake, bat, etc. She then became their agent to win souls for them in the church.
Praise God she is now delivered! All the gifts given her were destroyed and she is now happy again in the Lord. Dear reader, it all started with an unusual friendship, and because Sister J lacked the spirit of discernment and was not watchful as is commanded by the Lord “watch and pray that ye fall not into temptation,” she went astray and fell deep into the hands of the enemy and her race could have ended in hell because of carelessness.
You can easily identify Satan’s agents with the following:
– They wear RINGS on one of their big toes, CHAIN around the ankle, NOSE-RINGS, UNUSUAL BANGLES, etc.
– They could enter into a church or fellowship and be VERY ZEALOUS in the activities of the group or church, just for a single Christian they are after. Some behave abnormally, others are wicked, etc.
That is why the child of God should ask God for the spirit of discernment, to enable him/her identify them at a glance. The moment they know you have recognized them, they make sure they do not come near you. The reason being that their master will warn them about you!

In the Market Places

They operate in various forms in the market. THE MARKET IS ONE OF THEIR MAJOR AREAS OF OPERATIONS, just as the hotel is where they lay in wait for men. In the market, they pick their victims, SOME PREGNANT WOMEN WHOSE MISCARRIAGES THEY CAUSE TO ENABLE THEM GET THE BLOOD FOR THEIR BLOOD BANKS. Some victims they would accompany to their residence in order to visit such in the nights. This happens to the unbelievers! Certain fanciful products sold in the market e.g. necklaces, lipsticks, perfumes, and food items such as sardines “Queen of the Coast” etc., have strange origins.
There are certain actions Christians have to watch out, for you might see a lady or perhaps a gentleman who suddenly touches your stomach or any part of your body. Know that this is done with a wicked purpose – either to cause miscarriage, deposit certain things in your body or cause sickness.
The Christians therefore should, on experiencing this, give the word of command in Jesus’ name, scattering or destroying the plans of the devil, etc. And sure enough whatever you scatter or bind here on earth shall be so.

Cultural activities

It is also very important to note that many people get initiated into Satan’s activities or get possessed through most of these cultural ceremonies and dances. MOST OF OUR CULTURES ARE DEMON ORIENTED. Some through friends, others through reading some pamphlets or novels. Demons hover in the vicinity of every idol. They function through idols in the practice of idolatry (Zec. 10: 2). As a definite part of religion, idolatry ascribes divine power to natural agencies and pays divine honour to a created object (Rom. 1:18-22). The Scripture defines idolatry as spiritual adultery (Jer. 3:8-10). Therefore a child of God should have no connection whatsoever, directly or indirectly, with idolatry. So called high life, juju and disco music are inspired by Satan and his demons.
I do remember, that before the Lord saved me, in one of the meetings we had with Satan, he said: “This world is mine and I am going to rule the whole world in my power, and would destroy all who believe in the name of the Righteous One.” Satan does not mention the name of Jesus. If anyone does that in his presence he/she stands the risk of losing his life. He promised making those of us his agents, governors, etc. (Satan is a liar and indeed the father of lies). There were also plans to silence the Christians in Nigeria by restricting importation of Bibles and Christian literature.
He operates through unbelievers in positions of leadership and authority, to initiate anti-Christian policies and programmes. He establishes healing centres which would appear very religious and through them claim souls. These centres usually called SPIRITUAL HEALING HOMES are all around us. Here many lying wonders are performed to deceive their clients.
Satan is very much aware of the SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST and constantly urges his agents to HURRY AND BE ARDENT in their operations, always saying: “We have no time left.”
Dear child of God, Satan is not sleeping, why must you sleep!

Chapter 8
The Believer’s Weapons

– THE NAME OF JESUS
– THE BLOOD OF JESUS
– THE WORD OF GOD
– CHRISTIAN PRAISES

“Finally brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-11). “And they overcame him by the BLOOD of the LAMB and by the WORD of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11).

I have already said much on this earlier, but just to give a few instances. Please REALIZE that there is POWER in that name of JESUS! There is POWER in the BLOOD OF JESUS! The Scripture says: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also had highly exalted HIM, and given HIM A NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME: That at the NAME OF JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11). Again the Scripture says: “And they overcame him by the BLOOD of the LAMB and by the WORD of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). Let the name “JESUS” always be on your lips! These two, the name and the blood, scatter the plans of Satan, and in fact destroy the strategies of Satan and his agents.
Secondly, you must learn to sing praises to GOD ALWAYS. There is POWER IN PRAISES.
There was this Pastor – Pastor I.K. (name withheld). He was pastoring a church in Ebute Metta. He became my target and his offences were:
1. He disturbed our peace by carrying out early morning calls i.e. preaching in the early hours.
2. He went about with his megaphone and stationed himself at N.° 2 Bus stop along Akintola Road, Ebute Metta. There he would preach. He would not stop at that but would keep binding demons, etc.
3. In his church he would preach, exposing the works of darkness, after which he started binding demons.
4. He prayed a lot.
5. He was always singing and praising God.
I sent my messengers to him but they could not kill him so I decided to carry out the mission myself. On the said day, I saw him walking along the new G.R.A. A thing worth mentioning here about this Pastor is: anytime we went for him, we would see pillars of cloud by his right and left hands, walking along with him, so these hindered us. But this particular day I saw nothing, so I was doubly sure my mission would be very successful.
I commanded rain to fall to enable me to strike him with thunder. The rain started and the thundering began. The whole trees in the area started loosing their branches, but this Pastor was singing joyfully. I still remember the chorus: “IN JESUS NAME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW.” As he continued with this chorus the rain stopped, the thundering ceased and there appeared immediately two angels, one on each side, with flaming swords. Their eyes and the swords were like flames of fire. Then a strong wind carried me away and I found myself in another town! In fact I was baffled, but because we were so hardened, what I said was: “This man has escaped again!” The Pastor did not know the spiritual war that was fought on his behalf.
So, you can see, the child of God is WELL SECURED. When the Bible says: “NOTHING shall BY ANY MEANS hurt you,” it means what it says!
The second testimony is about a Christian who boarded the same taxi with me. He was very zealous and started distributing Gospel tracts inside the taxi. When he gave me the tract I rejected it. He started preaching. So I became disturbed and knocked him with the ring on my finger. That was to kill him. This boy shouted: “THE BLOOD OF JESUS!” and immediately lightning and fire and an angel appeared. A strong wind again removed me with great force out of the taxi and into the thick jungle. Had it not been that I was a man backed by evil powers I could have got lost in the jungle. The Christian did not know the war that went on his behalf. All he knew, including the other passengers, was that I had disappeared from the taxi!
The name of Jesus or the Blood of Jesus in the mouth of the believer sends out fire etc. The Scripture says: “THE NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER: the righteous runneth into it, and is SAFE” (Prov. 18:10).
Dear reader, if you are a child of God, remember that God has magnified His word above all His name (Psa. 138:2), therefore confess the Word (the Word of God) believing that what you said shall come to pass, and IT SHALL BE SO. That is GOD’S PROMISE!
Again I would like to mention here that you can only confess what you know. The Scripture enjoins us to delight in the Word of God, meditating on it day and night. For you to rightly divide the Word of Truth, you must know it. Col. 3:16 says: “Let the word of Christ DWELL in you richly in all wisdom.” Again Psalm 1:1-3 says: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his DELIGHT is in the law of the Lord ; and in His law doeth he MEDITATE DAY AND NIGHT. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in his season; HIS LEAF SHALL NOT WITHER and whatsoever he doeth shall PROSPER.” Get close to your Bible; pray without ceasing; have a singing heart and stand, exercise the authority given to you by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Chapter 9
Now What Next?

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “COME.” Let each one who hears them say the same, “COME.” Let the thirsty COME – anyone who wants to, let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge” (Rev. 22:17 – Living New testament).

Having read through this testimony, you need no further preaching to give your life to Jesus Christ. The Scripture says: “The thief (Satan) cometh not but for to steal, to kill and to destroy. I (Jesus Christ) have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Satan hates you and has devised various means of taking you to hell with him. That, you can testify from this testimony. If Satan makes a promise to you or even gives you a gift, know that it is illintentioned. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. God called him YOUR ENEMY, why not believe God and His Word?
It is not by accident that you came across this testimony. Examine yourself and make sure you are in Christ. You will only succeed in deceiving yourself if you choose to remain a ‘CHURCH GOER’ and worst of all, if you still decide to put up an nonchalant attitude to this MOST IMPORTANT DECISION of your life. I plead with you if you are not SURE of your stand in Christ; if you are not SURE of Heaven if death calls on you now, then please pray this simple prayer with a sincere heart: “Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and cannot save myself by good works. I know that I deserve to go to hell, but I am sorry for my sins and ask You to forgive me. I now by faith receive You into my life as my Saviour, Lord and my only Hope of salvation. Come into my heart now and save me according to Your promise. Write my name in the Book of Life. I ask all these in your precious name. Amen!”

x Perez reports:
Silver haired and sweet faced, Darlene Mayes looks like many grannies but according to police, she is one of Oklahoma’s biggest drug kingpins.
Her operation went up in smoke this week, when police entered her home and found 4 pounds of pot and $276,000 cash.
Police found $15,000 bundles of cash stashed away in the home.
Mayes initially told police the money was part of her retirement fund.
Police also say she was packing a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver.
Investigators say her alleged pot-dealing network spanned four states, from Tulsa, Okla., to Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.
Police believe she supplied up to 40 percent of the marijuana in that area.
As the mastermind, police believe she had a network of dealers, including her son Jerry who was also arrested.
Law enforcement expert Brad Garrett says harmless looking seniors can sometimes be the most efficient drug dealers.
“It doesn’t surprise me that someone this age would be actively involved in marijuana distribution because there’s just too much money to be made. If they keep a low profile, they don’t talk to many people, and they don’t get greedy, they can go on for years.”
Mayes is not the first grandmother accused of ditching retirement for a second career in drug dealing.
In the United Kingdom, 68-year-old Patricia Tabram-dubbed the cannabis grandma-was charged with intent to supply after authorities say they found a marijuana farm in her home.
In Tennessee, an elderly couple was busted for selling prescription drugs.
But the grand-daddy of all drug crooks may be Francis Cook, 83, also known as Britain’s oldest drug dealer.

KAWABUNGA…….POW

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